Published: Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 5:06 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 5:06 p.m.

WASHINGTON - Viewed by its sister services as the less brainy branch of the armed forces, the Army over recent years had neglected to maintain its own ability to fight electronic warfare, relying instead on the expertise of the Air Force and the Navy.

But the ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have introduced deadly new threats and proved how that lack of attention to electronic warfare has put soldiers directly at risk.

Information-age attacks, like improvised explosive devices detonated by cell phones, radios and garage door openers, have claimed more lives than any other type. And there are high-technology benefits that must be managed, including friend-or-foe tracking devices and surveillance drones that beam video straight to troops in battle.

In response, the Army is developing its own electronic warfare teams. The initial goal is to train more than 1,600 people from enlisted ranks through the officer corps by 2013, and to double that in the following years, giving the Army enough of these specialists to rival its sister services and surpass all of the NATO allies combined.

Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli was the first person to sound an alarm that the Army's neglect of electronic warfare was endangering troops. Chiarelli was serving as the No. 2 commander in Iraq when he sent a memorandum to Army leadership at the Pentagon in February 2006, warning that soldiers were unable to operate the new high-technology gear that was being rushed to the war zone to counter the rising threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

Chiarelli also warned Army headquarters that the ability of commanders and troops to communicate was diminishing as allied and American radios and electronic jamming gear fought for space on the limited broadcast bands, degrading the quality of transmissions all across the spectrum.

"When I first got over there in 2004 and in 2005, we didn't have any Army electronic warfare capabilities," said Chiarelli, who is now the Army vice chief of staff. "It became deadly apparent in 2006, with the rise of IEDs. At the same time, we were having big problems with the jammers and how to deconflict them with all of the other radio and signals traffic."

The Army reached out to the other services for help. Adm. Mike Mullen, then the chief of naval operations but since promoted to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, immediately ordered to Iraq hundreds of sailors who specialized in electronic warfare.

"They saved a lot of lives when they came over," Chiarelli said. "They became the most important person in each formation down to the battalion level. They were sought out by soldiers who knew they had to learn this kind of warfare."

In the three years since, hundreds of Air Force personnel have also served as electronic warfare specialists with ground units in Iraq.

In that time, the Army has produced a doctrine on electronic warfare that will join other new field manuals, including a better known one on counterinsurgency, that are transforming how the service prepares for and fights wars.

The Army's new field manual, "FM 3-36, Electronic Warfare in Operations," instructs commanders in how to integrate electronic warfare into all tasks, from planning to carrying out military operations. It also lays out a program for training personnel and sets the requirements for equipment.

"We simply have to look at ways to attack, and to protect ourselves, all across the frequency spectrum," said Col. Laurie Moe Buckhout, chief of the Army's electronic warfare division.

Managing communications, and protecting those transmissions, is complicated enough in the civilian world, but the problem is magnified in a combat zone, which is cluttered with sometimes conflicting radio signals from various American and allied units.

Military risk assessments note that potential adversaries, from nation states to terrorist groups, are seeking to increase their abilities to attack electronic frequencies. The goal would be to scramble radio and cell phone traffic, block signals from convoys that allow headquarters to track the movements of troops and supplies, or jam data from satellites that feed vital navigation systems.

"The enemy's ability to weaponize the spectrum to detonate an IED was just the tip of the iceberg," Buckhout said.

Electronic warfare is among the military's most highly classified efforts, routinely carried out in conjunction with the nation's intelligence agencies. It focuses on signals carried by radio and microwave frequencies, and is usually confined to a tactical battlefield setting.

It is separate from the other growing field of combat, cyber warfare, which deals with defending or attacking computer networks, with local, national and even international impact.

<p>WASHINGTON - Viewed by its sister services as the less brainy branch of the armed forces, the Army over recent years had neglected to maintain its own ability to fight electronic warfare, relying instead on the expertise of the Air Force and the Navy.</p><p>But the ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have introduced deadly new threats and proved how that lack of attention to electronic warfare has put soldiers directly at risk.</p><p>Information-age attacks, like improvised explosive devices detonated by cell phones, radios and garage door openers, have claimed more lives than any other type. And there are high-technology benefits that must be managed, including friend-or-foe tracking devices and surveillance drones that beam video straight to troops in battle.</p><p>In response, the Army is developing its own electronic warfare teams. The initial goal is to train more than 1,600 people from enlisted ranks through the officer corps by 2013, and to double that in the following years, giving the Army enough of these specialists to rival its sister services and surpass all of the NATO allies combined.</p><p>Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli was the first person to sound an alarm that the Army's neglect of electronic warfare was endangering troops. Chiarelli was serving as the No. 2 commander in Iraq when he sent a memorandum to Army leadership at the Pentagon in February 2006, warning that soldiers were unable to operate the new high-technology gear that was being rushed to the war zone to counter the rising threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.</p><p>Chiarelli also warned Army headquarters that the ability of commanders and troops to communicate was diminishing as allied and American radios and electronic jamming gear fought for space on the limited broadcast bands, degrading the quality of transmissions all across the spectrum.</p><p>"When I first got over there in 2004 and in 2005, we didn't have any Army electronic warfare capabilities," said Chiarelli, who is now the Army vice chief of staff. "It became deadly apparent in 2006, with the rise of IEDs. At the same time, we were having big problems with the jammers and how to deconflict them with all of the other radio and signals traffic."</p><p>The Army reached out to the other services for help. Adm. Mike Mullen, then the chief of naval operations but since promoted to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, immediately ordered to Iraq hundreds of sailors who specialized in electronic warfare.</p><p>"They saved a lot of lives when they came over," Chiarelli said. "They became the most important person in each formation down to the battalion level. They were sought out by soldiers who knew they had to learn this kind of warfare."</p><p>In the three years since, hundreds of Air Force personnel have also served as electronic warfare specialists with ground units in Iraq.</p><p>In that time, the Army has produced a doctrine on electronic warfare that will join other new field manuals, including a better known one on counterinsurgency, that are transforming how the service prepares for and fights wars.</p><p>The Army's new field manual, "FM 3-36, Electronic Warfare in Operations," instructs commanders in how to integrate electronic warfare into all tasks, from planning to carrying out military operations. It also lays out a program for training personnel and sets the requirements for equipment.</p><p>"We simply have to look at ways to attack, and to protect ourselves, all across the frequency spectrum," said Col. Laurie Moe Buckhout, chief of the Army's electronic warfare division.</p><p>Managing communications, and protecting those transmissions, is complicated enough in the civilian world, but the problem is magnified in a combat zone, which is cluttered with sometimes conflicting radio signals from various American and allied units.</p><p>Military risk assessments note that potential adversaries, from nation states to terrorist groups, are seeking to increase their abilities to attack electronic frequencies. The goal would be to scramble radio and cell phone traffic, block signals from convoys that allow headquarters to track the movements of troops and supplies, or jam data from satellites that feed vital navigation systems.</p><p>"The enemy's ability to weaponize the spectrum to detonate an IED was just the tip of the iceberg," Buckhout said.</p><p>Electronic warfare is among the military's most highly classified efforts, routinely carried out in conjunction with the nation's intelligence agencies. It focuses on signals carried by radio and microwave frequencies, and is usually confined to a tactical battlefield setting.</p><p>It is separate from the other growing field of combat, cyber warfare, which deals with defending or attacking computer networks, with local, national and even international impact.</p>